What life looks like six years after a stem cell transplant

The impact of a blood cancer diagnosis doesn’t end when treatment does. Six years after her stem cell transplant saved her life, Lauren is still living with the long-term impact of cancer and the challenges it brings.

Yet because a stranger joined the stem cell register, Lauren has had the chance to keep moving forward. She was able to marry her childhood sweetheart, complete a master’s degree, build a career and travel to places she always wanted to see.

Cancer changed Lauren’s life in ways she is still coming to terms with. But it also gave her a deeper appreciation for life’s everyday moments and the donor who made those moments possible.

The stem cell transplant that saved her life

Lauren was just 23 years old when she was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML). A time when she should have been enjoying the new challenges of adulthood, transformed into visits to the doctor, attempting to explain away a series of unexpected and painful symptoms.

After all, given her age, it was easy for both Lauren and her doctors to disregard many of them. Nerve pain in her hips and legs became a pulled muscle. A lump under her arm became an ingrown hair. Breathlessness and fatigue were attributed to low iron levels.

It wasn’t until a blood test revealed something far more serious that Lauren’s life changed overnight.

Within days of her diagnosis, Lauren had started chemotherapy while still trying to process the reality of living with blood cancer. A year later, after relapsing, she was told she would need a stem cell transplant – and when her brother wasn’t a match, those stem cells would have to come from a stranger on the stem cell register.

“In my head, I thought it would be a big scary thing,” Lauren says.

“But stem cell donation is such a simple thing. The way they gather them is so easy, and it’s made such a difference to my life.”

In October 2019, Lauren received her stem cell transplant – a date she now refers to as her “second birthday”.

The milestones made possible by one donor

“When you donate your stem cells, you’re changing a life. You’re being a real-life superhero,” she says.

“Because of my donor, I was able to get married. I’ve been able to do my master’s, work in a job I love. I’ve been able to create and travel,” she continued.

“It’s given me more time with the people I love. And it’s such a simple process that can make all the difference.”

For Lauren, these milestones are a reminder of just how much one donor’s decision can mean.

“I’ll have these random moments where I’m seeing somewhere I’ve always wanted to go and I’ll think, I might not have got this,” she says. “It’s still sometimes a bit surreal, even after six years, to think how close I was to not being here.”

“It’s tough afterwards, but totally worth it”

Lauren’s stem cell transplant didn’t erase the impact cancer had on her life. In fact, life after cancer has presented some new, incredibly complex challenges for her and she continues to navigate the physical and emotional consequences of treatment years after her transplant.

“I’m now at the stage in life where a lot of my friends are having kids or travelling or working in top-end jobs,” Lauren reflects. “But I had two and a half years in hospital taken away from my 20s, and all that time afterwards recovering.”

The long-term effects of treatment, uncertainty around fertility and the feeling of being left behind by peers have all shaped Lauren's experience of overcoming blood cancer.

“People think once the cancer's over, it's over,” she says. “But I’m six years down the line and still navigating everything that’s happened.”

Yet despite those challenges, Lauren remains grateful for the life she has been able to build. Thanks to her stem cell transplant Lauren has had the chance to face those difficult days alongside the moments that make life meaningful: getting married, travelling, building a career and creating new memories.

Life after cancer isn’t always easy, but thanks to a stranger who joined the stem cell register, it’s a life Lauren gets to live.

As she puts it: “It’s tough afterwards, but totally worth it.”

Joining the stem cell register takes minutes. Donating stem cells takes hours. But for someone like Lauren, it can mean a lifetime.